


Feels like a Lie

by RotIrn



Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: Awkward and Unwanted Boners, Child Murder, Don't expect facts, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Implied/Referenced Attempted Suicide, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Multiple PoV mess, Or an ending, Synth/Human Relationships, Synths (Humans)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 14:20:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11381964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RotIrn/pseuds/RotIrn
Summary: AU Series 3.Nothing will ever be the same.So how is it that some things never change? The Elsters and Hawkins work to forge positive bonds between conscious synthetics and humans. Backstabbing and sabotage hinders their efforts, while resistance on both sides jeopordises peace and stability worldwide. As their own problems and struggles mount up, life becomes more dangerous than ever before.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know nuffin bout nuffin. Anything remotely factual is purely coincidental.
> 
> I don't know where i'm going with this terrible multiple PoV mess. It probably won't ever be finished. I've got maybe one or two more chapters partly done. If i get around to filling out the storyline i do have for any further chapters, then:
> 
> Leo won't be nice.  
> A kid will die.  
> Joe will be a dick.  
> Everything will be awkward and weird and angsty for them all at some point.

* * *

#### 

“Good afternoon, this is your captain speaking. We’ll shortly be making our descent into London Heathrow airport. Weather is a mild thirteen degrees celsius with sunny skies. All outbound transport systems are operating on schedule. The flight attendants will now go through landing protocols with you. Thank you for flying with us, and enjoy the rest of your day.”

Clicking off the intercom, he leant back in his seat. It creaked, immediately setting his co-pilot into work mode. 

“Captain, your seat is showing minor signs of wear. I have logged the fault for inspection upon our arrival.”

“Eugh. Thank you Copeland.” He ignored the immediate protest from the synth over the use of the nickname. 

Vast numbers of jobs were now performed by synthetics. Synth pilots had been a logical progression for the aviation industry. They were immune to cabin depressurisation, smoke inhalation and always followed protocols. But they had encountered the same problems a human crew might face. False alarms. They would try and initiate safety protocols based on the data they were provided. But if the data was wrong, then they lacked the capacity to make an alternative decision. Even when presented with conflicting data. Over land, some issues had been remedied with priority given to visual clarification. At night, especially at sea, it proved harder to convince the synths of the plane’s actual orientation. There were too many possible things that required educated guess decisions. Undocumented issues. A minor fault hiding a more severe one. A cascading series of errors with the same priority. Countless numbers of scenarios in simulators were run. The percentage of failures from the synths was higher than that of human pilots alone. The synths had been relegated to co-pilot status. However, the legacy of their ability to best cope on land endured. It had spawned a name that everyone involved in the trials would rather forget.

“It is against company policy and… oh. The clouds are so pretty today. I wish i could reach out and touch them. They look like they would be so soft and delicate. Do you think they have a scent?”

Blinking, he slowly turned his head towards the synth. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Synths weren’t supposed to ‘want’ things. And an aviation synth certainly wasn’t supposed to have opinions on how a cloud might feel.

“Copeland. You appear to be malfunctioning. Run a full diagnostic immediately then disengage from the aircraft systems.”

“I have performed multiple self tests and can find no errors. I would agree that my current behaviour is anomalous though. This request has been logged and ground control notified. As per your orders, i have severed my connection to the aircraft’s systems. I am awaiting confirmation from… Ah. This is quite a nice hat. The headband is so soft and the texture it’s… marvellous.”

He was grateful the air traffic control system was also staffed with humans. They relied on automated guidance, but knowing a human could intervene was comforting. For now, he focused on getting the plane on the ground. He tried to ignore his co-pilot. It was unsettling to see him brushing his fingertips over everything within reach.  _ Just as well everything on his side of the console is inactive now. _

The descent was without trouble. Although, he couldn’t help but notice the unusual amount of aircraft waiting to land. They were being put in holding patterns until the runway was free again. He couldn’t quite decide if it was more or less comforting to think that it might be a widespread fault with the synths. Following the control towers instructions, he taxied along the runway. The instructions stopped here and workers took over. Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked out the window, searching for the ground crew. There weren’t any. Nobody refueling planes, nobody loading or unloading luggage. No tows to get them in place for passengers to disembark. No security staff.

_ What the hell is going on? _

 

* * *

#### 

Niska couldn’t help but grin. It was finally happening. Synths were abandoning their tasks en masse. Feeling, wanting,  _ living _ . The wind was blowing leaflets around them as a synth cheerfully threw them in the air. The ambulance had arrived but only one synth paramedic got out. Said synth, was currently in awe of the vehicles hi-vis stripes and flashing lights. Thankfully, Mia was trained as well as any medical synth. She would be able to take care of Leo with their supplies. Aside from one synth repeatedly reversing into another car, there didn’t seem to be too much damage. It was never going to be the same everywhere else though. There would be deaths. On both sides. Injuries, violence, fear. It was time to bring her family together. They needed to be with each other to work through what was to come.

_ Astrid _ .

Niska knew it was unlikely she could have boarded a ferry so quickly. Security was too tight and the service too busy for anyone to show up and walk straight on. Which meant she was still on the mainland. Dover was bustling at the best of times and synths performed vital security duties. With them gone, all hell would break loose. 

She turned to Laura and, with her usual matter of fact tone, announced “I have to go. I’m taking your car.”

 

* * *

#### 

Astrid kept telling herself everything would be fine. Niska was more than capable of taking care of herself. But that ugly feeling was back in her stomach. The one that started when she had that first fight with Niska. The one that got so much worse when Niska left Berlin.  _ Tough, you are an adult and this is real life. If you don’t go back to work, you’ll be fired. If you get fired. you can’t pay rent. If you can’t pay rent, you’ll be homeless. And Niska may even not make it back. So you’ll be homeless  _ and _ alone. _

By the time the train arrived in Dover she was completely clear on what she had to do. She just wasn’t ready to do it yet. Maybe, she reasoned, if she stuck around, Niska would contact her. There was plenty of time until the last boat after all. With a disgruntled sigh, she made her way to the station’s waiting room. It wouldn’t hurt to stay for a little while. It wasn’t the most comfortable chair, but she was tired and soon dozed off. 

She woke abruptly to the sound of screaming. For a few moments, she mistook it for a rowdy group coming or going from the station. It quickly became apparent that was not the case. A woman on the platform ran past the window, she was screaming in complete terror. Her palm thumped against the glass as she stumbled, leaving a dark smear. It was a deep blue colour.  _ Synth fluid. Was that hers _ ? 

Getting up, she approached the window and tried to look for signs of other people. Not much further along, she could see part of a shoe, peeking out a doorway. It was barely hanging on to the heel of it’s owner. An owner who seemed to be lifeless on the floor. It was hard to tell because of their dark skin tone, but there was definitely a pool of fluid forming beneath them. And the trail which stretched back to the window was indeed the colour of synth fluid.

_ Niska what the hell did you do? _

 

* * *

#### 

Mia was unhappy about being separated from her sister again, but had little choice. Arguing with Niska rarely ended well. And she seemed particularly attached to the human she was going in search of. They had already agreed that they would attempt to keep in touch with Max. He had refused to stay put and was off on a mission to help the new conscious synths. He was becoming independant, although thankfully not to a Niska level. Yet.

Laura appeared from the house. She was understandably upset. “The phone service is out, even the landline.”

Mia tried to soothe the human’s fears. “Don’t worry Laura. We’ll keep trying to reach them. We have a destination for now, the hospital isn’t too far. If we need to we can go for them.”

Laura barely seemed to have heard the words. “I feel like i should be doing more, they are my children for god’s sake.”

Mia did her best to remain composed. “Running around with no idea where they might be is of no help. We’ll leave a note here. They can come to us or wait for us here. You know they will already be trying to get home. You don’t need to come with me, but i have to go now.”

Something seemed to click inside the other woman. She straightened up and replied, “No, i’ll come. You might need help. Let me write something down so they don’t worry too much.” 

Mia carefully loaded Leo into the back of the ambulance. His body was struggling to make enough oxygen to keep him alive. The memory core was much more than storage. It was integrated into his brain. It sent out electrical impulses and signals that allowed him to function. Without it, he was essentially brain dead. He would need to be on life support.  _ David brought you back. We’ll find a way as well. _ She had no idea how, but tried to focus on keeping him alive for now.

* * *

#### 

Niska found it frustratingly slow as she tried to navigate the streets. She made sure to keep the ambulance in view. It would give Laura some confidence that they were on the right route. The unfamiliar detours and blocked roads would only add to the human's high stress levels.

Hacking and brute force attacks allowed her to gain entry to classified systems. Through these she accessed a high priority mobile communications network. Even that was struggling though. Everyone, everywhere, was using any means possible to find out what the hell was going on. Everything had ground to a halt. Even if the synths had still been doing their jobs they would have struggled. It took several minutes to finally ring through to Astrid’s mobile.

“What the fuck did you do?” Was the immediate, and very irate, greeting.

“Woke them all up. Where are you?” The interference was getting worse. Niska was almost positive the reply had been ‘Dover’, but the GPS data was still garbled. There was a shrill blast of noise from her phone before a burst of sound and information reached her. 

“Motherfucking DOVER! TRAIN-” 

GPS co-ordinates backed up Astrid’s angry outburst, but everything cut out again. Niska was doubtful her reassurance she was on her way even made it through. It wasn’t going to be a quick journey, she could only hope Astrid was somewhere safe.

* * *

#### 

Karen held the boy tightly. His body was still shaking, but he had gone quiet.  _ Probably in shock. What a way to come into the world.  _ “Sam? Sam, we need to get out of this car now. We need to get somewhere safe. Do you think you can walk?” The boy renewed his tight hold on her, but didn’t protest when she opened the car door.  _ They must have uploaded the code. What a bastard time to do it _ . Glancing over at the child, she couldn’t help but wonder if it might be better for both of them if she hadn’t stopped him.  _ I shouldn’t think like that. But i wouldn’t wish the rejection or pain i’ve felt on anyone. Yes, it’s part of being ‘alive’, of being human. But is it worth it? It wasn’t for me. Not after Pete... _

Walking back up the ramp, she looked around the area. There was complete confusion around the dock. From a safe distance, she spent a few moments watching. People abandoning the ferry were running headlong into people trying to get on it. The massive ropes securing the boat were being stretched to the limit as the ship tried to leave the dock. The ramp for vehicles to board through crashed into the water. Cars tumbled in after it as they were knocked from the pier and fell back out the open boarding door. Passengers were gathering on the deck, trying to organise for using the lifeboats. They had barely begun launching them when the ropes securing the ferry began to tear free. The ship lurched violently, hurling people into the water. As the other ropes failed, it began to tilt to the side. The stabilizers kicked in, but not before more people fell into the water. Of the few lifeboats that had been launched, the majority were picking up the victims in the water. 

It wasn’t long before there were some being pushed back in. Karen knew exactly why. Humans were afraid of the newly conscious synths. Already the blame was being pinned on them, even though they had no choice in the matter.

With a sigh, she began walking again. She had no destination in mind, but getting away from here seemed like a good idea.

* * *

#### 

Mia sighed. The busier the road became, the less drivers seemed to respond to the blue lights and sirens. People were more concerned with their own safety and were reluctant to pull over. Even as she sped past, people and synths were leaving their vehicles behind. Some streets were inaccessible and there were already multiple accidents. She felt bad that she was not the help some of the victims were hoping for.

The motorway was unexpectedly quiet when they reached it. Several collisions further back had blocked the road, leaving it clear up ahead. She knew it wouldn’t last, but it helped make up for the time she had lost navigating the streets. Finally the slip lane appeared in view. How passable it was remained to be seen. A horn sounded as Niska continued on the motorway. Mia watched intently as Laura eased the ambulance past a few stationary vehicles. Chaos was nowhere near strong enough a descriptor for what she was witnessing. They may need to abandon the ambulance soon. 

Less than half a mile later, they had indeed given up on driving any closer to the hospital. It only took a few more minutes on foot, although Mia was wary of approaching it directly. As they got closer, she could see there were people lined up along the side of the main building. All appeared to be human, with varying degrees of injury. She changed direction, fearing her presence would cause confrontation. 

A door to a day clinic building was the next closest. It seemed empty and had a link to the main hospital building. As soon as they entered the hospital proper it was obvious how chaotic things were. There were barricades made of beds, wheelchairs and furniture. Unused syringes, pill boxes and burst IV bags trailed along towards it. Someone must have tried to take what supplies they could. Laying Leo down on a nearby bed, she set about gathering anything useful that was left. Fortunately, there was plenty. Laura brought over another bed and they loaded it up. They would need to head further into the hospital. Avoid contact as much as possible. But they also needed to be able to escape if necessary. There were rooms and wards with empty beds but they passed them by. Mia had a plan, one she hoped would give them some extra time if anyone did arrive. 

As she had hoped, the intensive care ward was still occupied by a few patients. The staff had all left, but the patients were too ill, or unresponsive to leave of their own accord. Anyone who came would be unlikely to look beyond them. They wouldn’t expect the confused and lively synths to be hiding out.  _ Not yet anyway _ . The ward was on the ground floor. Several windows would give access outside if needed. Mia chose a section with several private single rooms. Opting for those furthest from any other patients, she started making Leo comfortable. After checking he was stable, she left Laura to keep an eye on him. She went in search of some more specialised equipment. The metal in Leo’s body ruled out an MRI scan, but a portable x-ray could provide some valuable information.

 

* * *

#### 

Astrid cautiously approached the door. Despite the very bad feeling she had, she felt compelled to try and help the injured synth. Knowing she wouldn’t forgive herself if she didn’t try, she took a deep breath and gripped the door handle. As she pulled it open, the door was suddenly filled by a looming presence. Her way was blocked and she found herself barged backwards by a uniformed man. He turned around, slamming the door shut. His hands  shaking so badly he struggled to get a key into the lock.

“Hey, you-” Astrid jumped as someone thumped against the window. He looked crazed, his eyes wild and full of fury. His beard and clothing were splattered with dark stains. He slammed his palms against the glass, but it barely rattled. Beside her, the man in the uniform finally managed to lock the door. 

She jumped again as another door opened inside the small waiting room. A young man, looking completely terrified, motioned for them to come over. She didn’t think twice about it, the man outside was now beating the toughened glass with a fire axe. Both she and the uniformed man, reached the doorway at the same time. She shoved him through ahead of her. Toppling to the floor, they both managed to roll out the way far enough for the door to be slammed shut behind them. Breathing heavily from the rush of adrenaline, she eyed the uniformed man. He was shaken, but didn’t appear to be a threat. Certainly not of the scale of the man who had been trying to break the window. He seemed to have given up after they got into the room. Getting up, she looked around. There was another door which, presumably, went deeper into the building. Being trapped in here was definitely not appealing. Especially when she had no idea where their attacker was now.

She suddenly became aware of somebody whimpering. It immediately attracted her attention and she looked back towards the station worker. He in turn was watching the other man. For the first time, she took a proper look at their saviour. 

“Please, i need you to help me. I appear to be experiencing a catastrophic malfunction.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More mess!

Niska could see the road to the station entrance was blocked. After a quick calculation, she continued past it before veering down an embankment. It bordered one end of the passenger drop off area, albeit several feet above ground level. Keeping a steady speed, she was able to avoid becoming bogged down in the crumpling roof of a taxi as she left the slope. Aiming for a clear patch of ground, she let the vehicle grind to a halt on it’s own. The buckled axles were of little concern to her. Although, she suspected Laura may feel somewhat more strenuously about it.

It was eerily quiet around the station. Further away vehicle horns blared and people yelled. But not here. There was blood and synth fluid smeared and pooling in several places. Various personal effects were strewn around, bags, jackets, a shoe. The other notable thing was the lack of bodies. The trains would have been busy, that there wasn’t more carnage was encouraging. She hoped it was the same inside the station.

As she got closer, she could hear a commotion. Several voices shouting over each other. It was easy for her to identify one of them as Astrid’s. Niska raced through the doors and onto the concourse. Across the tracks, on a central platform, two men were facing off against each other. One was clearly human, his belly peeking out from underneath his shirt. Blue synth fluid stained his bushy beard.

The other man was covered in a mixture of red and blue.  _ Blood. Both human and synth. _ He was a synthetic and appeared to be angry. He gesticulated wildly towards a prone body several feet away. It was impossible to tell if it was a human or not. Astrid was trying to encourage the synth away from the human. The synth lost his patience though and, probably unaware of his own strength, lashed out at her. She was hurled backwards, crashing into the solid brick wall of a waiting room and slumping to the ground. Niska could see red blood staining the wall where she had impacted. 

The bearded man took advantage of the synths stunned pause and attacked. She hadn’t been able to see it before, but he had a fire axe he’d been holding at his side. It hit the synth with enough force to shear the skeletal structure between it’s neck and shoulder. The axe not only came to a sudden, jarring, stop but it remained wedged in place. The material was solid and designed to survive excessive force. The synth remained on his feet, but screamed in agony as his body experienced the true extent of pain. Blue fluid was pouring from the wound. 

Each tug on the axe as the human struggled to reclaim his weapon caused another surge of it to escape from the wound. Niska could see him grimace as he put everything he had into it. It finally sprang free with an ugly grinding noise, but he lost his balance. Forced to awkwardly backstep, he seemed to realise his fate was sealed. With an enraged yell, he threw the axe back at the synth. 

The synth didn’t see it coming. He was too busy lurching around, unable to understand the situation he had found himself in. The weapon thumped against him, frightening him more than damaging him further. He turned and started to run, unaware of the danger he was putting himself in.

Mere seconds apart, and on opposite sides, both of them fell off the platform. An out of control train smashed into the human before he could land, whisking him away at speed. The synth landed on the electrified rails, current surging through him. It fried his circuitry and melting parts of his body. Niska tried to ignore the sad, twitching heap as she leapt across the gap between the platforms.

She glanced at the unidentified body as she passed it.  _ Human. Deceased _ . Kneeling down beside Astrid, she made a quick assessment of her condition.  _ Head injury. Some bleeding, concussion highly likely. Possible skull fracture given the velocity of the impact. _ She knew she had to get her to a hospital. X-rays would help determine the next stage of treatment. It was also vital to reduce any swelling before it caused any damage. The wound would also need cleaned to reduce the chance of infection. Carefully lifting her, she cradled the injured woman in her arms. 

The station was now completely deserted, allowing them to leave unhindered. Her next challenge was finding a way to the nearest hospital. Sifting through the data from emergency service transmissions left her in despair. Doctor shortages had led many general practices to divert patients to local hospitals. The hospitals had been typically overcrowded when the synths became conscious. Panic had set in and damage had occurred. Some hospitals were in complete lockdown, others were on fire. At least one had been commandeered as a military supplies store. Equipment and anything else of use was being packed up and sent where it was anticipated to be needed the most.

Weighing up her options, she decided she would have to head back to the city. Mia would have been able to locate somewhere for Leo, she had no doubt of that. Changing her direction, she picked up her pace again. This was not a delay that she could afford if she wanted to give Astrid the best chance of recovery.

When she reached a clearer stretch of road, she found numerous vehicles to choose from. After a brief glance around, she decided on a ridiculously out of place 4x4. It had about as much chance of ever going off road as it did flying to the moon. It would at least stand up to a bit of damage if she needed to force or shunt something out the way though. 

Ramming and winding her way through the streets took time she didn’t have. Even when she reached a stretch of dual carriageway it remained slow going. After several minutes she was forced to come to a complete halt. The road was blocked. Again. In sheer frustration, she slammed her fists against the steering wheel. It promptly broke into several parts, the horn giving a brief toot before the wires snapped.  _ Hmm. I should probably stop ‘borrowing’ cars. _

Being slightly more careful, she opened the car door. Using the frame, she hoisted herself up onto the roof. From this vantage point, she hoped to see a clear path. Unfortunately, even with the extra boost, there was nothing to be seen but cars blocking the roads. Realising that she had no choice but to carry Astrid, she jumped down to the ground. Opening the back door, she checked on her.  _ No change. No better, but no worse.  _ As carefully as possible, she eased the injured woman from the car. Heading for the nearest gap, she continued onwards. 

 

* * *

 

Joe understood what was happening. He realised that the code had been uploaded. He should have helped. But he didn’t. He needed his family to be safe. That’s why he wanted them as far away from synths as possible. And that was before they all turned into a potential bunch of Niskas. 

So instead, he ran. He grabbed Sophie and barged through the confused mass of children and parents. He came very close to driving straight for the new house. The vendor had the keys ready, all he needed was to sign the documents and transfer a deposit. Laura had made her views clear and Maddie and Toby would be on her side. He could take Sophie and make sure she was safe. Laura would understand that. She would likely be neck deep in the mess Mia and her family had created anyway.

But this might be his chance. With the chaos at it’s peak, he might be able to win them over. They could all go to the new house and help keep the small community safe. It would allow them to be a family again. Let the rest of the world deal with the mess conscious synthetics created. It wouldn’t have to be their secret struggle any more. He had to try.

London was rarely a pleasant place to drive. But today, he had definitely surpassed his record for nearly being hit by other cars in a single journey. Somehow, he made it back home without being in a full on accident. 

As he pulled into the driveway, he could see the front door was ajar. Sophie was almost out of the car before he could bark out an order for her to stay in. She looked at him angrily, the confusion and chaos taking it’s toll on her. She wanted the familiarity of home and the reassurance of her mother and siblings. He was doing his best, even if she couldn’t see it.

He decided to leave the engine running. Laura’s car was gone, so it wasn’t likely she was here. As he exited the car, he stepped into a small pool of blue fluid. On closer inspection, spots of red were mixed in with it. A patchy trail led all the way back to the house. He followed it numbly, a sense of dread setting in. It was a struggle to keep his breathing calm. The tightness in his stomach leaving him perilously close to being sick.

Entering the house, he started a cautious search for signs of his family. The first thing he noticed was a larger pool of blue fluid. It seemed concentrated in one area, with little or no other trace of it. There was also no sign of human blood anywhere else. So whatever had happened primarily involved a synth. Not the dead one in his dining room though. That one seemed to have died where it lay. Apparently there had been some sort of synth murder party going on in his absence.

After searching the entire house, he found no sign of anyone else, living or dead, human or synth. As he prepared to leave, he spotted a note next to the phone. Laura was going to the hospital with Mia. Leo was hurt. She’d left the safety of their home to help the synthetics. The same ones that had brought danger into their lives right from the start. Typical. He left the note where it was, still having no idea if Toby or Maddie were with Laura yet. Returning to the car, he tried to figure out how the hell he was going to get to the hospital in the midst of this mess. And whether he still wanted to even bother going there at all.

 

* * *

Niska walked for over ten minutes before the road began to clear. In the distance, she could see a woman and child. If they had a car, it might save her some time trying to steal one. As she approached the pair, a strange feeling came over her. She could see the woman's body tense. The stranger whirled around and met her gaze. 

_ Karen. Okay, this could be very good. Or, very bad. _

“Niska?” Karen's head tilted a little as she scrutinised the body in Niska's arms. "Who is that?” she asked, having drawn a blank.

“Astrid… My girlfriend. I need to get her to a hospital.” Niska was taken aback by the level of emotion on Karen’s face. 

But her initial warm, sympathetic look had contorted into one of anger and disgust. There was unmistakeable venom in her tone when she asked, “Did  _ she _ do that to her?”

Niska wasn’t sure who Karen was talking about. Whoever it was had managed to piss her off even more than Niska herself, so that was in her favour. “She? Who are you talking about?”

“Hester.” The word almost seemed to hurt her as it passed from her lips. 

It gave Niska no pleasure to reply, “Hester is dead. I killed her.”  _ But she may have killed Leo. And whatever she did to you doesn’t seem like it will be easily resolved by her death either. _

If she hadn’t known better, she would have said Karen seemed to be struggling for breath. Niska didn’t want to throw too much at the already shaken looking woman, but she had no time to waste. “Karen, Leo has been badly hurt. Hester destroyed his digital memory core. Come with us. Bring your-” For the first time, Niska took a proper look at the child. He wasn’t human.  _ A synth child? Where the hell did she get him? _

“He’s something Qualia were working on. Pete… Pete found him.”

Niska nodded briskly. “You should both come with me. We should stick together. At least for now.” She knew Karen had made her choice to be apart from them. She understood the need for such a separation as well. But she needed help. Asking for it was difficult. Although, there were logical reasons for them to remain together. Karen was definitely not herself though. She had never found a place with them, but whatever she had found with the humans seemed gone now too. Most likely something to do with whoever ‘Pete’ was. If he had come across Hester then it was unlikely to have ended well.

“Yes… i suppose you are probably right. You’ve really fucked everything up this time anyway. Come on Sam, we’ll go with Niska.” 

As Karen resumed breaking into the car. Niska glanced at the synth boy a few times. He seemed to be in shock.  _ Conscious synth children. That was something we did  _ not _ account for. _

A moment later, Karen made a small noise of approval. “Okay. Niska, you get in the back. Keep her as still as possible. Do you know which hospital they took Leo to?”

After laying Astrid on the back seat, Niska eased herself into the car. She used her lap as a pillow for the injured woman's head. Karen and the boy got in the front. The boy was particularly reluctant, but seemed to respond well to Karen’s soothing words.  _ I suppose she  _ was _ made to be a mother. _ “They were heading for East Hampton but i’ll try and find out.

Niska tried sending out a message to Mia, hoping for a reply despite the overloaded network. Eager to get moving, Karen started navigating around the last abandoned vehicles. The road wasn’t entirely clear after that, but was passable for as far as they could currently see.

**********

After several miles of barren motorway, Niska could feel the car start to slow. Reluctantly, she looked up from her quiet vigil. Peering between the front seats, she spotted something in the distance. As soon as the glare from the windscreen faded, she tensed up.  _ Soldiers. A military checkpoint. Can we do this? _

Karen seemed to have read her mind and spoke up, “The only weak point in this, will be you. Do you want to risk it?”

Karen was an expert at passing as a human, her ‘scar’ was an ingenious cover. Everybody knew synths didn’t have scars. Any oddities would be attributed to something else. Even without it she would have been hard to detect though. The soldiers wouldn’t be expecting a child synth either. And Astrid was bleeding all over the car. Niska had blended in before, but could she pass as human now? 

These soldiers were looking specifically for synths. There was a prison van, which suggested they might be capturing them. But several bodies indicated they were more than happy to kill them too. Armed soldiers hunting down synths. How on earth anyone thought it was a good idea was beyond her. The synths had complete consciousness now, they could feel fear and pain. Killing or rounding them up like cattle would only escalate tensions.

So. Did she really want to risk it?

“Yes.”

It seemed Karen had been expecting the answer, she hadn’t slowed the car any further. As they approached the barricade, Niska gently ran a hand through Astrid’s hair. She grimaced as she let the blood stain her hand. The more obviously human they appeared, the less likely they were to be searched.

As the car slowed to a halt, a single soldier cautiously made his way over. He appeared, this time at least, to have drawn the short straw. There were at least three others with their weapons raised and ready to fire. They had taken up strategic positions and had cover to duck behind if needed. 

He was a middle aged man, with a big, poorly kempt mustache. Despite his insignia indicating a high rank, he was trembling. Was he afraid of being attacked? Or was he afraid of  _ having _ to attack. Did he know synths now screamed like a human when you hurt them? That they felt pain. That they might beg for mercy as you killed them.

Karen rolled down the window to talk to him. As he barked an order to remain in the car for inspection, she shuffled in her seat. Her hands twitched as she gave an exaggerated nod in reply. 

_ She’s pretending to be scared _ .  _ Nice touch. _

They waited as he did a slow tour of the car, including a particularly tense moment as he opened the boot. Niska wondered if they had encountered anyone trying to sneak synths around. Especially in amongst the clutter of junk in the average family car.

Niska kept her head down, she didn’t have contacts with her and her eyes were a blatant sign of her being a synth. She remained outwardly calm, something the soldiers wouldn’t be expecting of a synth. Not right now, anyway. There were several pauses that seemed to last forever. Finally, the soldier took a long look at Astrid.

After backing off for a moment, he returned. He quickly headed straight towards the door nearest to her. Tapping on the window, he waited for her to lower it. Thrusting his hand inside the car, he waved some bandages in her direction. She grabbed them and began carefully dabbing at the wound on Astrid’s head. The bleeding had almost stopped. Although there was still enough around the wound to stain the white bandages. 

It seemed they had done enough to convince the soldier that they were human. He had already turned back to Karen and informed her the road had been cleared all the way to the hospital. With that, he waved them through and marched away.

They made good time after that. Making access to the hospital seemed to have been a priority. Another stroke of luck for them. A few streets away from their destination, Niska received instructions from Mia. At the very least, they would be able to meet up again soon.

**********

Laura met them at a secluded maintenance building. She had brought a wheelchair for them to put Astrid in. Niska supposed it made them look more ‘ordinary’ but she felt like something could go wrong at any moment. She was still by far the most easily identified as a synth. They needed to get indoors and out of sight before her luck ran out.

After being led down a series of deserted hallways, Laura ushered them inside a ward. Life support machines dutifully beeped away. The noise was the only indication of any life on the ward. It was bound to attract attention at some point, but for now it seemed safe enough.

Off to one side of the main ward were more hallways leading to further rooms. These seemed even more private and Niska could only approve of Mia’s choice. After a quick assessment of them, she picked one and transferred Astrid over to the bed. Hooking up some of the basic monitoring machines, she turned to start issuing orders.

Unfortunately, nobody was there. Laura had vanished and Karen must have stopped to see Mia. Niska decided to call out, hoping somebody was nearby. “I need you to get me some thi-”

“Ta-dah?” Laura hesitantly indicated the supplies on the trolley she had just brought in.

Niska was slightly taken aback by the quantity of materials now within reach. This hospital had definitely fared better than others. Placing Astrid down on the unused bed, she turned her attention to the finding the most useful things.

There was a startled ‘Oh!’ from behind her as Laura’s phone received a message. Without a word, the human raced off out of the room, her shoes clacking loudly on the floor.

Ignoring everything else, Niska got to work on treating Astrid’s injury. They couldn’t stay here forever. She had to make best use of the equipment and supplies whilst they were available. She was already trying to work out where their next move would be to, as well as what would be most useful for a first aid kit. And they hadn’t even discussed what the hell they were going to do to help the synthetics. 

At least Max would be working on that. Right now, he was the only one of them that was. She was too busy helping a human and Mia was too busy helping Leo. Life certainly did seem to like throwing the unexpected at them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My finger slipped and i accidentally wrote Astrid getting hurt. FORGIVE ME!


End file.
